Page 67 of Under Pressure

He winks, and it’s so similar to Beck’s that I nearly blush. “And tell my nephew to bring you around sometime. His mom’s been riding his ass about getting a girlfriend for a while now, and she’d love to meet you.”

This time, I do blush. “We’re not dating.”

“Eh, semantics. Think on it, then. I’ll let you get back to what you were doing, but you need anything, just holler. I mean it.”

“Actually, before you go, I was curious about the bill? I’ve been asking Beck for it, but he’s been avoiding telling me exactly how much this is going to cost me.”

Humour sparks in his eyes as he slips his hands into the pockets of his brown work pants. “No bill, Quinn. Like I said, you’re Beck’s girl. I told him we were all good when he offered to pay.”

My features tighten as I say, “He didn’t mention that.”

“And I see that I’ve sparked a bit of something here, so I’m going to get back to work. Give my nephew a hard time, please. He needs a bit of a spanking from time to time.”

And with that, he quickly leaves me in the entrance of the construction zone, bossing around the two guys lingering. But me?

I leave the building entirely.

25

I’ve gotto give props to my uncle for his impeccable timing.

I’d just gotten home from the gym when I saw his warning text.Heads up, your girl took off here pretty pissed. You didn’t warn her about the bill?

Nah, of course I didn’t. Because if I had, she wouldn’t have accepted my help, and Blank Page would still be closed. I have no regrets about meddling in order to get her business up and running quickly and without needing to rely on a company that might turn around and end up screwing her in the end. This way, I know the work will get done properly. She’ll thank me eventually.

Or not. It doesn’t matter to me either way. Not as long as she’s taken care of.

Plus, my uncle owes me. For his birthday last year, I got all my buddies to go out to the bar with him and his baseball-fanatic employees for beers. He still holds the title of World’s Coolest Boss because of it, and I’m finally cashing in on his success.

In all honesty, though, he’d have done it either way, and I didn’t need him to return any sort of favour for that single night out. Family is family—that’s what Dad has always said, and thatextends far past just those in our household. When you’re blood, you’re forever connected. There are certain expectations that come with that relationship. If you need help, you can ask for it and receive without a grumbled response or a quid pro quo. I grew up with those beliefs and don’t plan on dropping them anytime soon.

My gut tells me that Quinn hasn’t had the same experiences with family as I have. Not to the same extent, at least. She was obviously close to her grandmother and Callie, but her mom? Dad? There’s a giant question mark there in her family history that I haven’t wanted to risk tugging at yet. Prodded, yeah. But she shut me down quickly. Anything more would have had her shutting down and taking off.

I tip my head back beneath the scalding shower water as I let my rigid muscles go lax. My workout was brutal, and I lifted far more than I should have after pitching yesterday, but I couldn’t help myself. It was the only way to work out the pent-up need inside of me that’s been lingering for days now.

As much as I love having Quinn here, I can’t deny that her closeness is an endless tease. I want nothing more than to pounce on her every time I see her walking around in those tight spandex shorts she seems to have a million pairs of or the baggy shirts that continuously drape off her right shoulder. She’d look so fucking pretty with a hickey on the soft skin of her collarbone. I’d get glances of it every time she wore those shirts, and now that I’m thinking about it, that would be a disaster. She’d get so annoyed with how often I’d be on her if that were the case.

Aaaaand my cock is hard again. I look down at it, ignoring the water running down my face and into my eyes. Bracing a hand on the shower wall, I suck a breath in through my mouth, water filling it. It won’t be long now until she’s back, steaming mad and ready to give me a piece of her mind. A shiver travels up my spine despite the steam surrounding me.

A small bead of cum drips from my tip, running a hot line down the rigid shaft before I wrap my fingers around it andstroke. I squeeze my eyes shut and repeat the motion, squeezing tighter.

Fuck, she’s so hot when she’s mad. The tips of her ears get red before her cheeks do, like a warning of what’s to come. And when her face grows the same shade, her tongue gets so sharp that the cuts are clean, painless. At least to me. Her aggressive words never wound me deep enough to hurt. They’re superficial because I can read through them.

When she’s defensive, it’s almost always because she doesn’t know how to accept a gesture or compliment. She doesn’t deny help because she doesn’t want it. The fight she puts up when I offer her support is because she’s not used to being taken care of, and I can work with all of that.

Having a woman like Quinn as a prize is worth everything.

“Fuck,” I spit, flinging my hair back when I toss my head and jerk myself.

My cock throbs in my hand, and despite already doing this in bed this morning, my balls are tight enough to hurt. With my eyes closed, I see her so damn clearly. The soft jaw, unique blue-gray eyes, plump, kissable lips. Her perfect fucking body, with the round hips, ass that I could spend hours filling my palms with, and thighs meant to warm my ears. I move my fist faster, choking out a low groan.

It would be so easy to strip her of her tight shorts and fall to my knees like a starving beast. I’d drape her thigh over my shoulder to open her wide and bury my face in her cunt. I want to hear the sounds she makes when she feels pleasure. They’d be loud and desperate because I wouldn’t stand for anything else.

I would beg if that’s what she wanted. Without a sliver of a doubt, I know I’d whine and beg and plead for the chance to taste her and make her come. My ego would be checked the moment she gave me the go-ahead. I wonder if she knows just how much power she has over me, and if she does, is she impressed?

My tongue glides across my wet lips, wishing it wasn’t water I’m tasting.

I’m too close already. I slow my strokes and pull my head from the water, needing to breathe properly before I go up in flames. My biceps burn from the exertion, and I ignore the soreness as I run my thumb over the glossy head and spread the slickness down my shaft again, only for it to be washed away.